Neosmith

Interesting - the June trailer for KH2.5 actually contains a few bits from the "Mickey in the realm of darkness" scenes from the BBSV2 teaser, so it looks like they decided to not remove that. I wonder if this means they plan on getting back to BBSV2 at some point in the future? Everyone's wanted to play as Mickey for a while, so I'm thinking they'll try to monetize that interest sooner or later.

I'm disappointed there's no discussion of the BBS capes. Given the remix, this could be a great opportunity to reinstate the capes, perhaps as an optional add-on.

I'm pretty sure the Brave world will appear now that Merida has become an official Disney princess.

Aside from the Pixar Worlds, I'd hope to see Disney use: 1. Robin Hood (Sherwood Forest) 2. The Jungle Book 3. Talespin (Cape Suzette) 4. Darkwing Duck (St. Canard) 5. Ducktales (Duckberg) 6. Pirates of the Caribbean DMC and AWE (Imagine fighting the Kraken) 7. Tangled 8. Wreck-It-Ralph (Candyland) 9. Ichabod and Mr. Toad 10. Lady and the Tramp 11. The Fox and the Hound 12. The Rescuers/Down Under

Well, first of all, we don't really know if "Braig fighting Ven, Terra, Aqua" was ever specifically planned. There are various possibilities that KH2 leaves open. It might be that Braig had met past key blade warriors or had knowledge about them, but the info in KH2 is deliberately vague. In fact, Braig doesn't really have any interaction with Ven in BBS, save for a brief look at him in the climax. Notice that in the video he describes how "Warriors with Blades of Keys appeared and fought great battles." From the context, it would seem that past keybladers had made a notable impact on the denizens of Radiant Garden and all the Apprentices were aware of them. But in BBS, very few Apprentices seem to be aware of the Keybladers' activities and the 'great battles' they fought. It also implies that Aqua is in the room of awakening at Castle Oblivion, when BBS shows it to be Ven. Furthermore, Nomura, as far as I recall, didn't have the BBS characters actually designed during KH2's development, which is why they were presented wearing armor in the original secret movie - to hide their appearances. In addition, the entire Xeha-clone plot, so intrinsic to the '13 Darkness' idea, is unlikely to have been considered in the course of KH2, because Nomura hadn't written the Nobodies as capable of growing new hearts or being pure beings of darkness - the plot mechanics clearly work only under the original information we knew about the Organization and its motives, including the idea that they were supposed to be neither of darkness or light and that they sought KH to become whole. (Saix even begs KH to give him back his heart before he dies and his ears could be a product of his werewolf-esque nature.) And, if in fact, Xigbar was aware of Xemnort's true plan to convert everyone into Xeha-clones, as he is/was one himself via 3D, then why does he need to eavesdrop on Xemnas in the first place? Plus, the idea that yellow eyes signified the Xeha-clone clearly wasn't in play until BBS - even in the KH2FM secret movie, Terra gains yellow eyes before Xehanort takes him over, following the original concept of embracing darkness.

I doubt it, because the 13 xehanort plan was probably not in the works until later into BBS' development. Nomura likes to change the Xehanort backstory on the fly, so it's unlikely to have been conceived as early as KH2FM.

I thought the Guardian is just the guy's shadow heartless.

I think they might make V2 after KH3. Nomura likes to milk the cow for all it's worth, so I'm certain it'll arrive sooner or later, probably for the Vita or another console. For a point of comparison, after MGS4 came out, Kojima continued the prequel series centering around Big Boss with Peace Walker.

Though, originally Nomura assured people that nobodies don't age.

Oh yeah, I rewatched that scene now. I could've sworn that before though, Sora's Shadow eyes looked somewhat different. Guess I was wrong.

Why does it have a lifebar then? It doesn't deplete?

So, you mean it's invincible after it detaches? I didn't know.

"I know the keyblade didn't choose me. But my friends are my power!" "We were gonna totally pick Riku as a vessel again, but then decided to do what they keyblade did and move down the list."

I never thought about that. But it makes perfect sense. Faux-sem was always a heartless or heartless-type being. Then again, didn't Shadow Sora have green eyes?

BBS doesn't really piss me off. Yeah, the worlds are kinda barren and the levels repetitive, but the gameplay is so much better than in KH2, the plot makes a lot more sense and the ending is really dark and tragic. It's all about failure. And heroes and villains have personal connections. Admittedly, I wish Aqua had more to do than battle the possessed evil versions of her friends, but oh well. Nonetheless, I keep imagining an alternate version of BBS: This BBS has a playable Mickey instead of Ven. It'd be so cool to finally have a Disney key-blader, it would remove a Roxas double from continuity and it would make more sense in the Cinderella world, where mice are small-sized. -Each world would have its own common enemies, instead of Unversed, who are basically pro to-Heartless in this game. Mickey's journey would be about his keyblade training under Yen Sid, but also about him becoming king. His Father, the original king, is murdered and Mickey is framed for the job. He has to clear his name and bring the true culprit - Pete - to justice. Also, MX wouldn't exist. Instead, the story would be about a white-haired young man named Terra, a fan of the myths of a long-dead legendary keyblade warrior named Xehanort. Terra would leave his training after not winning the mark of mastery, seeking out the X-blade of Xehanort, said to be most powerful key blade in the realm, gradually turning into a villain and succumbing to the power of darkness. After finding it, he would use it to separate whatever remaining good is inside him to become a warrior of pure darkness, his good taking up his discarded armor. He would then resolve to take over all worlds by releasing an army of darkness (heartless) via opening a portal to the realm of darkness and summoning its hellish forces. Aqua tries to stop him from unleashing the army. I imagine an exchange such as this: -Terra, please. Stop this, it's not too late! -Terra? What a pathetic name! All my life, I've had to put up with it, to put up with people mocking me for being named after the Earth itself. But no more! From this day forth, I'll be Xehanort. Yes, Xehanort, the seeker of darkness! -Very well, "Xehanort". Prepare to die! So, Terra is the original Xehanort. He merely changed his name, like he would do later. Eh, that's my dream-prequel anyway.

I don't have a 3DS, but if I did, I'd want the Final Mix to make the dream dropping between Sora and Riku optional, as well as allow Disney character partners again.

Presumably, he became half-Xehanort back in BBS as Braig. How did that transfer over to his nobody form? Nobody knows, but KH3 will likely find a way to retroactively explain this.

I'm gonna get a Vita sooner or later, so yes -- assuming that it's BBSV2, complete with longer levels, exclusive worlds per character and more platforming per the 3D standard. And better key blades, that grant you exclusive abilities like in KH1.

I was wondering if anybody could let me know something. During the No Heart battles, I noticed that Shin Xehanort occasionally releases his Keyblade, allowing it to attack the player separately. In this instance, the keyblade gets its own lifebar. Is it possible at this point to vanquish the Keyblade and if so, what effect does that have on the rest of the battle? I've never seen this happen in a play through, but I am curious. Notably, you can usually destroy a detachable body part of a boss, like in the case of the Trick Master, which makes the main boss change up his strategy.

Dude, Faux-sem/Terranort having a keyblade wasn't even planned until they got to 3D. So, it can't apply here. Riku had a second keyblde, because the plot called for it, so Kairi could get the Destiny'e embrace. I'm not sure if Riku should even have a first keyblade to begin with, as his originally had moved on to Sora but rules regulating the blades are pretty loose in the game's continuity.

The game lets you, for the first time, to switch between all of your three party members. Play as Donald, Goofy, etc.

I do think Aqua kinda got the short shrift in the original ability department. I mean, she shares two out of her three advanced command styles with the other characters. I think it'd been cool to have water magic and a water command style (s).

Honestly, the whole issue of how and why Sora can use key blades is yet another problem with how the series has treated its own backstory. I mean, the way it originally went is that the Keyblade chose Sora, because Riku had chosen darkness over light. But the sequels have rendered this notion mirky. BBS revised it so that Riku wasn't chosen by the keyblade itself, but rather by Terra to be his successor. Heck, originally Roxas was able to dual-weild by himself, then it turned out he could only do that because he absorbed Xion And the whole notion of whether Ven has anything to do with Sora being able to wield is also debatable, because the reveal that he has a keyblade wielder's heart inside his own strongly suggests, whether Nomura intended it or not, that that is what makes him a wielder. I'm not sure if Sora's dual-wielding was ever explained in the games themselves anyway. It's more of a mechanic than anything else, really and Sora only does it after merging with another party member. So, whatever the case is, Sora will be able to use the key blade or two in-game, for otherwise there would be no gameplay.

Wow. It's touching and profound.

I've already posted this in a KH2 section that discussed golden eyes, but I feel it's more relevant here; I'm pretty sure the significance of the eyes had changed over the course of the series' development, likely becoming altered from the 'full submission to darkness' to signifying Xehanort's influence/heart. Nomura was likely aping Star Wars , wherein dark amber/yellow eyes signified one's turn to the dark side of the force. It's probable that Nomura's decision to make the eye change a sign of Xehanort's possession did not arise until BBS was well into development. Recall, for instance, that Terra was originally supposed to get yellow eyes before confronting Old Xehanort (the KH2FM secret movie/BBS opening movie). However, in BBS the game, the eyes are a reveal of Xehanort possessing his body. (Lucas similarly retconned the significance of the eyes by showing Palpatine's transition from Senator to Sith Lord with corresponding eye color change as a consequence of him getting electrocuted.) Furthermore, as many noticed, there is the whole thing with Braig's eye changing (and his ears turning pointy). Indeed, BBS established a vaguely defined deal between Braig and Xehanort and Nomura explained that Xehanort was influencing Braig in an interview. The game itself does imply that Braig is a Xeha-clone. Aside from the Close-up of his new eye prior to his battle to Aqua, it is notable that his boss battle now features him making 'dark teleports', which are identical to Xehanort's and Terranort's. His dialogue with Aqua post-battle also features a few interesting lines: Braig's line here suggests that he made the choice to become a keyblade wielder. So, basically, to become a Xeha-clone. There are a lot of holes, however, in regard to this schema. For one thing, how the hell did Xehanort transfer his heart into Braig? Supposedly, he needs access to Kingdom Hearts to accomplish this and his original body would vanish upon completion of the transfer (as the Terra thing demonstrated). For another, Braig 2.0 states in 3D that the whole (retconned) plan for the Organization was to "round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to KH, then fill them all with the same heart and mind." Supposedly, then, to become a Xeha-clone, he would need to have first become a Nobody. But the thing is, Braig became a Xeha-clone before he became Xigbar. So, wouldn't he have lost his Nort-ified heart upon becoming a nobody (as the 3D opening movie demonstrates)? What was the point of even having all the Apprentices become nobodies and work towards KH if Xehanort could've nortified them like he had nortified Braig? In other words, the new plan for the Organization makes no sense.